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DC Legislative Outreach Update
November 10, 2009
During the National District Export Council (DEC) Conference in Washington, D.C., November 3-5, Texas Camino Real (TCR)DEC members called on five members of the U.S. House of Representatives Texas delegation. These members serve on key committees involving appropriations, trade, budget, and commerce. TCR DEC members met with Congressman John Carter, R out of Round Rock and Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D out of Austin. They also met with the staff of Chet Edwards, D out of Waco, Charles Gonzalez, D out of San Antonio and Joe Barton, R out of Houston.
In all meetings DEC members, utilizing key talking points, informed the staff and Congressmen about the work of the DEC, the importance of free trade agreements, the need to resolve the U.S. Mexico trucking issue, and the dire need for an increase in USFCS budget resources.
All the members are strong supporters of trade and recognize the value of the three pending free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea. They noted the political difficulties involved in resolving the U.S. Mexico trucking issue. Lastly, the two Congressmen and their Legislative Directors offered to help with the USFCS budget situation. The TCR DEC will provide specifics to those offices directly.
As always, meeting with our legislative representatives and their staffs provided DEC members an opportunity to spread the word about the work of the DECs and the need for action on issues of key interest to Texas exporters.
Support of Free Trade Agreements
November 10, 2009
• Texas DECs support the pending Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama up for ratification in the U.S. Congress.
• A direct impact is that FTAs have historically created and kept jobs in Texas.
Border Trucking Issues
November 10, 2009
• Texas DECs support the opening of border trade to international trucking as stipulated in the NAFTA. Allowing the free flow of international trucking would immediately and significantly lower the cost of international trade for Texas, expedite the flow of business into and out of Texas, and remove one of the major slowdowns to cross border trade with Mexico.
• After fifteen years of non-implementation, recent pilot projects demonstrate again that safety and other issues can be handled within the normal regulatory regime of both countries.
Support for the Budget Situation of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service
November 10, 2009
• Texas DECs support increased budget resources for the US & Foreign Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce under the International Trade Administration, with which we work closely in support of Texas business.
• This is a small, but critical, agency that often gets overlooked and support is needed and deserved.
• It is the only agency with a domestic and international network with a specific mandate to help small businesses export their products and services.
• 97% of U.S. exports come from the small and medium size companies.
• Many economists have recently noted the importance of exporting for growing the U.S. economy.
• While the President’s budget for FY 2010 had an increase of $5.2 million for the USFCS, it did not make it through the House.
• The Senate bill has restored $4.5 million of the request.
• It is now in conference committee,
• We support this needed increase in FY 2010 and look for a larger increase in FY 2011 so this vital agency can continue its work in helping the small and medium size companies that don’t have the resources of a large company.
• Success Stories: http://www.buyusa.gov/austin/7.html
Impact of International Trade on Texas
November 10, 2009
Exports
1) In 2008, for the seventh year in a row, Texas was ranked as the number one state by
export revenues.
2) Texas exports for 2008 totaled $192.14 billion, which represents a 14.22 percent increase over 2007.
3) The state's top value-added Texas exports in 2008 were Chemicals, Computer & Electronic Products,
Machinery (not electrical), Petroleum & Coal Products, and Transportation Equipment.
4) Total 2008 exports for the United States increased over 11.84 percent to $1.3 trillion from
$1.16 trillion in 2007.
5) The countries of Mexico and Canada, followed by China and the Netherlands were
the leading destinations for Texas exports in 2008.
6) The state’s largest export market continued to be its NAFTA trading partners, which accounted for approximately 41.9 percent of total state exports during 2008. Mexico continued as the top export destination
with $62.08, Canada second with $19.24 billion, China third at $8.44 billion, The Netherlands fourth at $7.06
billion, and Brazil ranked fifth at $5.96 billion.
Imports
1) In 2008, Port Level data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicated overall Texas
Port Level imports totaled approximately $329.06 billion.
2) The 2008 top ten Texas imports were oil and petroleum, electrical machinery, computers, and transportation
equipment, including vehicles, aircraft, and railway.
3) 2008 Texas imports for the top 10 countries of origin accounted for $251.51 billion – or
76.4 percent of Texas imports.
4) Mexico was the top country of origin for Texas imports with approximately $143.18 billion in imported goods or 43 percent of Texas imports.
5) Interestingly, Canada does not rank in the top 10 for Texas imports, in striking contrast to its number two ranking for Texas exports.
6) Venezuela ranked second for Texas imports, followed by Saudi Arabia, and then mainland China.
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